Bat.



J. A. HILLERIGH.

Patented Sept. 15,1914.

I awuwwlto'o John A.'Hillerich THE NORRIS PETERS CO4. PHOTO-LITHO.. WASHINGTON. D. C.

JOHN A. HILLERICH, 0F LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY,

ASSIGNOR T0 J. F. HILLERICH &

SON COMPANY, INCORPORATED, 0F LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY.

BAT.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN A. HILLERICH,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Louisville, in the county of Jefferson and State of Kentucky, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bats, of which the following is a specification.

The present improvement relates to handles for bats, and consists in a bat the handle of which is covered with a layer of cork applied and maintained under tension. The cork is applied to the extreme exterior periphery or surface of the handle without the cutting into or removal of any portion of the handle.

Where cork has been applied to serve as a handle covering for various implements, portions of the material of the handle have been removed, so as to materially weaken the hat or other implement; also the cork has not been applied under tension with the result that it becomes loose and more or less detached from the substance of the handle so as to be inefficient for the purpose of affording a strong and firm grip of the bat. These difliculties are overcome by my said improvements, and for the purposes of makmg the invention more clearly understood I have shown in the accompanying drawings means for carrying the same into practical effect.

In the said drawings :-F igure 1 is a side view of a base ball bat embodying the invention. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same on line IIII, Fig. 1, on a larger scale. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sheet or layer of cork before it is applied to the bat handle. Fig. A is a cross section, of full size, of the bat handle, illustrating the manner of applying the cork thereto under tension. Fig. 5 is a similar view after the thread or cord which has been used for giving tension to the cork has been removed. Fig. 6 is a cross section on an exaggerated scale showing the layer of cork as shaped to form a lap-joint, and before such joint has had its parts brought together by the tension-applying thread or cord. Fig. 7 1s a similar view showing the joint completed.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the body of a base ball bat, and 2 the handle thereof.

3 is a sheet or layer of cork of sufficient length to form the necessary grip, and shaped at its longitudinal edges, according specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 21, 1913.

Patented Sept. 15, 1914. Serial No. 786,010.

to the contour of the handle, so that when it is applied around the handle in proper position its said longitudinal edges will not quite meet. This sheet of cork is preferably about one-sixteenth of an inch in thickness, and a convenient length for the same is about fifteen inches.

In applying the cork sheet to the bat handle I first give to both the cork and the handle acoating of waterproof fish glue cement and then curl the sheet around the handle. Then a thread or cord 4: is wound around the cork sheet in such manner as to compress the same and increase its width, and this compression is continued imtil the edges of the cork sheet are brought firmly together. The cement is then allowed to become thoroughly dry and the cord A is removed. The inner surface or skin of the cork sheet is then coincident with and practically integral with the extreme exterior surface of the bat handle, and the outer portions of the cork are in a state of tension, which gives great firmness to the handle and prevents the sheet from becoming detached at any point from the handle. The tension of the cork sheet is evenly distributed from end to end of the same, by reason of the preliminary shaping of the sheet and the manner in which it was applied to the bat handle. The longitudinal edges 5 of the cork sheet may be shaped to form a butt joint, as indicated at 6 in Fig. 5; or they may be shaped to form a lap joint as indicated at 7 in Figs. 6 and 7.

The thread or cord 4 is applied by a winding machine, while the operator holds the cork sheet in proper position curled around the bat handle, proper tension being maintained upon the cord to flatten out or spread or stretch the cork as may be necessary to make a perfect joint and leave the cork in its final stretched condition after it has dried and the cord has been removed.

Base ball bat handles vary considerably in diameter and contour, according to the models preferred by difierent players, and yet an exact joint along the edges 5 of the cork must be formed in order that the bat may be durable. The difiiculties incident to securing this result are overcome by my improvements, and any tearing or splitting of the cork is avoided. The cork sheet is origi nally of suflicient thickness to allow of its being spread and thinned until the required joint has been made, and after drying every part of the cork is so fixedly and permanently united with the bat handle surface that the tension set up in the cork can not cause any tearing or splitting after the cord 4 has been removed. After the cork has been applied as described, and the bat dried, the bat is put in a lathe and the end edges of the cork sheet are finished to afeather edge, as indicated at 8 in Fig. 2, so as to prevent any pushing up and roughening or loosening of the cork at these points. As a result of the described improvements all of the advantages of cork in giving a good grip, absorbing shock,'etc., are made available in practical and durable form; also the bat is strengthened in its weakest part by the application of the cork to the extreme periphery of the handle, instead of cutting away any part of the latter. If the cork should become wet from rain or perspiration its swelling may for the time being relieve the said tension, but cannot cause the cork to wrinkle up, or become detached. By the said finishing of the end edges of the cork A the said edges are caused to. be tapered down entirely to the surface of the handle, so that they cannot be struck or engaged by any object or loosened from the handle.

I am aware of the British patent granted to Dark, for cricket bats, May 6, 1891, No. 7,842, and I do not wish to be understood as claiming anything disclosed therein.

Vhat is claimed is:

1. A. bat having its handle covered with cork under tension and applied on the eX- terior of the full circumference of the handle, substantially as set forth.

2. A bat having applied to the exterior of the full circumference of the handle cork under tension, the end edges of which are tapered to the surface of the handle, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN A. HILLERICH.

Witnesses F. WV. BRADSBY, J. J. HAYES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C." 

